Intermittent Fasting: Why I chose it and My Results

Hello Old School Calisthenic family! I’m Horea Gentea and with this article I want to reveal some of my own experiences with Intermittent Fasting.

Back in 2015, I began to study about training protocols and nutrition in order to further my knowledge about the human body and muscular development when I stumbled across Intermittent Fasting, a nutrition protocol where you eat your meals within a 6-8 hour window (or even less) during the day.

It was an alien approach to nutrition for me as I grew up with the belief that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and if I do not eat for several hours I would be damaging my health in the long run.

As I researched about Intermittent Fasting and its health benefits I came across how our tissues and organs regenerate themselves during fasting period. Another belief installed in me from my childhood was how I would be dizzy and lethargic if I did not eat food for several hours and how lack of food in my stomach would result in a lack of energy available to the body to perform properly.

But as I progressed with my research I read how our bodies utilize stored fat for fuel during period of fasting and it becomes even more alert and active as it doesn’t need energy to digest food simultaneously. Now I don’t know about you guys but I always felt sleepy after a big breakfast!

Now as I decided to try it out and as usual jumped into it right away by eating only in the evening. My fasting window was 16 hours and eating window was 6-8 hours with 2-3 meals. After a few weeks as I got used to the feeling of hunger I gradually reduced the eating window to 2-4 hours and 1-2 big meals.

Now the third main myth that I debunked with Intermittent Fasting was that if you train on an empty stomach, you won’t have enough energy and it would be counterproductive.

After I started training in a fasted state I quickly noticed that my workouts were better and I felt lighter as well. And the best feeling after a grueling workout is to fill my body with nutrients and reward it with a great recovery.

Concerning building muscle with Intermittent Fasting, I can absolutely say that it is absolutely possible. It all comes down to macros and calories and if you are getting necessary protein and nutrients you will get bigger regardless of your meal structure.

Above all I would like to acknowledge the fact that we all are different and hence not everyone will find it to their liking.

That’s why we all have to choose what is best for us. However according to my experiences with one and a half year of Intermittent Fasting I can definitely say that I never felt better, healthier and fitter in my life. As far as others are concerned, everybody needs to experiment to determine what is suitable for them.